beauty queen who was dethroned as Puerto Rico's representative at this year's Miss Universe contest after organisers accused her of having an attitude problem is taking her fight to court.

Kristhielee Caride filed a $3 million (£2.1 million) lawsuit on Thursday in which she demands the return of her crown and the multiple gifts she won, including a car, plastic surgery and a seven-day cruise.

She was stripped of her title less than four weeks ago - only four months after having won the crown.

The lawsuit alleges breach of contract and contractual damages. It was filed against PR Crown Entertainment and officials including Desiree Lowry, national director of Miss Universe Puerto Rico.

Ms Lowry's lawyer, former Puerto Rico justice secretary Antonio Sagardia, told The Associated Press that he declined to meet with Ms Caride's lawyer at their request.

Ms Caride was stripped of her title after she was criticised for beingdismissive and saying she did not love cameras in an interview with a local newspaper.

"That's like an athlete saying, 'I don't like to train,'" Mr Sagardia said.

Ms Lowry told reporters at the time that Ms Caride never apologised and said only that she was having personal issues and that such an incident would not happen again. However, Ms Lowry said Ms Caride then cancelled other appearances because of a doctor's appointment she refused to reschedule.

The lawsuit says Caride underwent an unspecified surgical intervention in late February and needed to rest for a month. It said she then made a required public appearance and did not wear unspecified, required post-operation accessories on Ms Lowry's orders. The lawsuit also states that a friend of Ms Caride's suffered a haemorrhage during that time and it affected her emotional state.

Ms Caride said in a Facebook post last month that beauty queens are not exempt from bad days and that she allowed her feelings to come before her job. She apologised and said she was turning over her sash even though she disagreed with the decision.

"I allowed my feelings to get in the way of my work," she wrote.

The incident was the first time a contestant lost her crown before the big event was held. Miss Puerto Rico 1994, Brenda Robles, was dismissed during the contest because she was pregnant.